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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. present — there
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stem — to come from
  7. snap — to click
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pound — a weight
  15. present — a gift
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — for dancing
  21. present — the time now
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. sharp — clever
  24. stem — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com